Transportinfo.org.uk - today's transport news in the uk, hand picked for you each morning

Thursday, 31 July 2014

BBC News

• Birmingham New Street Station opening date announcedBirmingham's New Street Station is set to open in September 2015 after a £650m redevelopment, Network Rail has said,
• Christian activists lose gay bus advert challengeThe High Court has dismissed a charity's claim the London mayor was responsible for a ban on a bus advert which suggested people could "get over" homosexuality.
• VIDEO: Broads-view opens up Norfolk waterwaysThe Norfolk Broads will soon be available for virtual navigation thanks to a novel aquatic equivalent of Google's Streetview technology
• Aer Lingus reports improved fortunesAer Lingus reports a
• London air hub 'must serve Scotland'The Scottish Council for Development and Industry calls for London airport expansions to benefit Scotland and other UK regions.
• Man on bridge disrupts Virgin trainsVirgin trains operating out of Glasgow Central Station are disrupted after a man got on to a bridge parapet in northern England.
• Airbus says plane market 'strong'Airbus says the market for commercial aircraft is

Financial Times

• National Express profits slide by a fifthBirmingham-based group focuses on expansion abroad as it reports 32% fall in first-half pre-tax profit despite solid growth in core UK coach unit
• Mayor calls for £1.3tn London investmentWith the population expected to rise to 11m by 2050, London needs to improve transport, power, education, housing and airports, Boris Johnson said

The Guardian

• London orbital railway on mayor's £1.3tn wishlistBoris Johnson says London Infrastructure 2050 plan is a wake-up call to stark needs of London over next half a centuryBlueprints for a new orbital metro-style railway around London are being drawn up by the city's transport authorities as part of a massive proposed infrastructure investment to keep the capital moving as the population soars in coming decades.About £200bn of spending on transport infrastructure alone will be needed in the capital by 2050 to keep it in the top tier of world cities, according to the London mayor, Boris Johnson. Predicting that London's geography would s...
• Driverless cars to make debut on British roads next year, Vince Cable saysBusiness secretary says computer controlled vehicles will be trialled in three cities, and public funding offered for researchDriverless cars will be manoeuvering themselves around British streets from next year, the business secretary said on Wednesday, as he unveiled a review into the laws that ban them from the country's roads.Vince Cable said the computer controlled vehicles would be trialled in three cities from next year, adding that the government would make a £10m fund available for developing the technology in the UK. Continue reading...

The Herald

• Airline apologises for drug alertAN Australian airline has apologised after an attendant gave passengers who might have been flying high a warning there were drug-sniffer dogs awaiting them at Sydney Airport - prompting a rush for the toilets.

The Telegraph

• Gatwick airport baggage chaos: holiday-makers 'face flying without luggage'Passengers face lengthy delays and flying without their bags amid staff shortages among baggage handlers at Gatwick airport, airlines warn

Times Online

• Women cyclists ‘need pootling lanes’ [Subscription]More women would travel by bicycle if there were fast and slow lanes for cyclists where less confident riders can “pootle along”, according to a Labour MP has who criticised Britain’s “rat run” roads.
• Monarch boss leaves amid search for capital [subscription]The boss of Monarch Airlines’ parent company is standing down after five years at the helm of the travel group which is seeking new financial backing in order to mount a challenge to low-cost competitors.
• National Express reveals full cost of the big chill [Subscription]A triple whammy of freak weather in the US, the strong pound and strike action in Spain drove first-half profits at National Express down by a third.

Mail Online

• Virgin Atlantic bans flights over Iraq The aviation industry is angry that assurances it was safe to fly over Ukraine were proved to be wrong, after Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was downed by pro-Russian extremists.
• Women need special cycle lanes to 'pootle' away from 'scary' lycra-clad men, says ex-Labour minister Hacnkey South MP Meg Hillier said women do not want the ‘muck sweat’ of cycling and fear they will fall off their bike when other cyclists are ‘whizzing past you’.
• Train companies' craven decision to ditch 'quiet carriages' In a tragic act of capitulation to mobile-phone users, the cowards at First Great Western are getting rid of quiet carriages on their high-speed lines, writes HARRY MOUNT.

Network Rail

• Grand Central success continues as September 2015 opening is confirmedWith the stunning atrium roof above Grand Central successfully lowered into place, the official opening of Grand Central has been confirmed as September 2015.
• Grand Central and Birmingham New Street to open in September 2015 (Embargoed until 01:00 on Thursday 31 July)With the atrium roof successfully lowered into place, the official opening of Grand Central and Birmingham New Street station has been confirmed as September 2015.

Birmingham Post

• Region well-placed as £10m driverless cars boost unveiled Driverless cars will, for the first time, be driven on public roads in a series of trials that will last between 18 and 36 months

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Leeds Bradford Airport announces £1.2 million improvement package ANOTHER £1.2 million has been invested at Leeds Bradford Airport to improve customer services.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Assurances demanded over £10.4m North Wales to Liverpool rail linkWrexham MP Ian Lucas has raised concerns over lack of certainty on Halton Curves line upgrade announced by earlier this month

Derby Telegraph

• Derby Telegraph commented OPINION: Pavement cyclists are a menaceWHY do some cyclists still think they own the pavements?On July 21, I was walking back to work at lunchtime up Babington Lane, which incidentally has a cycle path, when two young people, one male, one female, were cycling down on the pavement.I wrongly assumed they would stop, or move on to the road to let me and other pedestrians pass, but, no, the female practically rode straight through me, catching me with her handlebars, catching my bag and jolting me back, nearly knocking me over. When I...

Liverpool Echo

• Councillors back HS2 call from city mayor Joe Anderson Mayor tabled the motion at a meeting of the full council held at the Town Hall tonight

London Evening Standard

• Heathrow car rental firm sparks fury by warning tourists London's cyclists 'become indignant if you hit them' A car rental firm based at Heathrow Airport has sparked fury among London cyclists after branding them “a hazardâ€� in an online guide for overseas motorists.

Yorkshire Post

• Cable invites British cities to vie for £10m trials of driverless carsDriverless cars have been tipped to transform Britain’s transport network after the Government launched a £10m competition to host a series of on-the-road trials.

Blackpool Gazette

• Subsidised bus fares to riseFares on bus routes subsidised by Lancashire County Council will go up from Sunday August 3 following an annual review of ticket prices.

Carlisle News & Star

• Rail union protests over changes to train network Campaigners are setting up stalls outside railway stations across Cumbria as part of protests against changes to the train network.

Plymouth Herald

• Bus services across Plymouth axed because of falling passenger numbers BUS services across Plymouth and surrounding areas are being axed because of "declining passenger numbers".

Other Regional Press

• Bus users with sight problems need helpEast Dunbartonshire MP Jo Swinson is backing a campaign by the charity Guide Dogs to help people with sight loss use buses more easily.
• New Airport bus operator announcedTHE new contract for the Cardiff Airport Express bus service has been awarded to New Adventure Travel.
• Coach operator shortlistedREGIONAL coach firm Lucketts Travel Group has been shortlisted for two categories in the coach and bus industry’s most prestigious awards.
• Manston airport: More than 700 lots auctioned off today and tomorrow by Peaker Pattinson Auctioneers from fire engines to flat-screen TVsMore than 700 lots from Manston airport will be auctioned off from today, with the owners estimated to have made more than £100,000 so far.

Airportwatch

• Cameras on lorries to cut toll of cycle deaths [Subscription]Cycle-friendly lorries fitted with proximity sensors, video cameras and side-guards are to take to the streets to help reduce the death toll for cyclists, as part of plans to crack down on dangerous trucks.

Aviation Industry

• Air France–KLM losses halvedOperating loss cut to €342 million

Other News Sources

• Progress for National ExpressScotRail bidder and Dundee bus operator National Express has outlined how cost efficiencies helped it to “positive progress” during the first half of 2014, despite falling revenues and profits.
• 'Speedy' £129m road scheme to complete two years late Balfour Beatty has won a £129m M3 upgrade deal, a project first set out for ‘speedy’ construction by the government in November 2012 which will now complete two years later than initially planned.
• Lufthansa Group raises operating profit for first half-yearImproved cost structures and lower depreciation help increase operating profit by EUR 41 million to EUR 114 million / competitive pressures on fares, devaluation of the Venezuelan bolivar and...

News from Europe

• European electric car sales continue to accelerateElectric vehicle sales in Europe doubled again in 2013 for the fourth consecutive year, with more than one in every 20 new auto-buyers in the Netherlands and Norway opting for battery-powered cars, according to analysis of official data by the Transport and Environment (T&E) environmental think tank. The paper found that 50,000 plug-in vehicles were sold across the EU in 2013 – 0.4% of all car sales – with the market set to grow to 100,000 vehicles by 2015, 500,000 by 2021 and 1 million by 2025, if the trend continues.